SBJ Esports: Chargers' Austin Ekeler Talks New Twitch Efforts

There is a very interesting, yet natural balancing of the esports space taking place. It's something that signals esports is evolving well beyond a niche space with limited investment to a target-rich environment that is ripe for a cash influx.

Recent executive moves in the industry also show a major change is afoot. Non-endemic brands are snapping up professionals with strong esports backgrounds, while brands that are endemic to esports are going after talent with “Hollywood” resumes -- executives who can better monetize organizations through marketing and content creation.

The result is a symbiotic synergy that hasn’t been seen in the industry in some time.

-- Kevin Hitt

CHARGERS' EKELER LOOKS TO TWITCH TO GROW BRAND, ENGAGE FANS

• Chargers running back Austin Ekeler has found a new way to engage with fans and build his personal brand -- livestreaming on Twitch. As a gamer and fan of content on a few platforms, Ekeler tells The Esports Observer's Trent Murray that he decided several months ago to do what he thought everyone did on Twitch -- stream yourself playing. However, Ekeler quickly discovered that what Twitch really offered was the chance to build a community with his fanbase.
  
  
• "As the interaction (people typing in the chat) became more common -- asking questions -- that's where I started to turn my vision to, 'Hey, I want to get rid of the middle man and let's actually just talk and interact.' And I want to continue to do it during the season too.” Now, in addition to playing games, Ekeler will have broadcasts where he simply chats with his audience, or will livestream his workout for the day.
  
  
• By engaging with his audience, Ekeler has evolved his content to be unique to him and what his community wants to see. Ekeler believes this interaction is the key to finding success on Twitch. “I've seen other athletes stream where they don't say one word to the chat. They're literally just playing the game. ... It's OK to do that during some times, but there needs to be that interaction for people to actually want to come back."
  
  
• Having seen success with his personal stream, Ekeler is looking to take it one step further, launching Gridiron Gaming Group together with his agent, Dynamic Sports Group President Cameron Weiss. The group aims to show other sports figures how to find success through streaming. For Weiss, part of that potential is the new way in which brands can engage with consumers through a familiar athlete. “This is one of the first mediums we’ve had where the brand spokesperson can be connecting directly with a potential buyer.”

Ekeler is engaging with fans in Twitch chat settings, while also providing exclusive video of workouts

JOSH CELLA LIKELY TO DRIVE G4 REVENUE FOR COMCAST

• Comcast Spectacor has poached Activision Blizzard exec Josh Cella for its gaming division, according to SBJ's Adam Stern, and Cella appears to be primed to play a big role in re-launching the G4TV channel. Comcast-owned G4 is the linear TV channel launched in 2002 that focused on gaming, but was eventually shuttered in 2014.
  
  
• G4 sent out a viral teaser tweet on Friday hinting that it will return in 2021, with reports indicating it will be more digitally focused this time (vs. linear). G4's reincarnation is interesting in that Comcast revealed it just weeks before another gaming-based TV network -- Venn -- is set to launch. These additions are likely to create a crowded gaming-based media ecosphere in the coming years.
  
  
• Cella, who will serve as chief revenue officer, brings a background in media sales, which suggests that he will play a major role in efforts to monetize the relaunched channel. His departure from Activision and move to Comcast was not previously announced nor reported, but Cella did quietly change his LinkedIn profile to reflect his new employer. Cella also had stints with Univison and the NFL. During his time at Activision, Cella served as head of global partnerships for its esports division, which landed several new sponsors of Overwatch League in recent years, including Kellogg's, Coca-Cola and State Farm.
  
  
• Comcast is not yet commenting further on G4 or Cella's new role.

MAESTRO ADDS FORMER CLOUD9 PARTNERSHIPS EXEC

• Video platform Maestro has brought on as Jordan Udko as Exec VP/Revenue, reports TEO's Graham Ashton. Udko comes from the Cloud9 team outfit, where he secured partnerships with blue chip brands like Microsoft, BMW, AT&T and Puma. Udko quietly joined the company in April, but Maestro only made the move formal yesterday.
  
  
• Udko’s role at Maestro will stretch beyond esports or gaming to include all types of content for the platform. Udko tells SBJ he wanted to apply the experience and knowledge acquired in esports to what he considers to be the future of content consumption. “The next mom-and-pop business will not necessarily be a brick-and-mortar business. It will be in online content. ... All they have to do is capture a very small percentage -- the ‘super fan’ if you will -- to make a living.”
  
  
• Having raised $5.8 million to date, Maestro produced solutions for both the Fortnite World Cup and Overwatch, as well as the Dallas Cowboys and Sky Sports. Its product adds interactive options to livestreams, allowing content creators to better understand audience behavior while also integrating sales options. Udko said the gamification that esports and other forms of gaming provide is now being adopted by several verticals. Udko: “We’re seeing from clients, anecdotally, that it’s almost doubling revenue, from call-to-action to purchase in a stream.”
  
  
• Maestro will announce a couple of “dynamic partnerships” in the next 30-60 days. One of its recently added clients, Grammy winner Melissa Etheridge, began charging between $5-10 for livestream concerts during the lockdown, before offering subscriptions. Her core demo is in the 45-65 year-old range, a far cry from the typical online audiences for a gaming personality like Ninja or Korean pop idols BTS. Udko: “Streaming used to be thought of as a young person’s business, and we are enabling every demographic to be successful.”

DATA SHOWS PANDEMIC HAVING BIG HIT ON GLOBAL ESPORTS ECONOMY

• As lockdown measures continue to be implemented worldwide, revised predictions to the global esports economy in 2020 are forecasted to increase only 1.7% from 2019, according to data from Newzoo analyzed by SportsAtlas’ Michael Cupello. The projected 2020 bottom line becomes more and more negatively impacted as esports events continue to be postponed and cancelled, and many leagues and tournaments are switching to an online format.
  
  
• Contests that were once international have now become regional-only due to internet connection lags in different parts of the world, calling into question competitive fairness from one region to another. Finally, uncertainty in the market due to the pandemic has forced many companies to decrease their marketing budget to preserve capital. This will undoubtedly spill over into 2021’s revenue projections.

• A breakdown of 2020 esports revenue streams illustrates the impact that the lack of esports events will have this year, with the merchandise and ticket revenue projection readjusted to $76.2 million, down 27.9% from last year. Another marketplace sharply affected by the lack of events are the earnings from publisher fees (the fee an event organizer pays the owner of a game for the right to host an event that plays it), which are expected to be 11.6% less than in 2019.

• Excluded from Newzoo revenue projections are revenues from betting, fantasy leagues and similar cash-payout concepts, as well as in-game revenue streams such as microtransactions. For the full Newzoo article, click here.

SPEED READS

• League of Legends has announced a partnership for its European circuit (LEC) with NEOM, a "smart city" project being developed in Saudi Arabia. NEOM will serve as a main partner for the remainder of the summer season. Earlier this week, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament organizer BLAST announced its own deal with NEOM. TEO's Trent Murray notes both entities have received a largely negative response on social media to the deals, primarily around issues of human rights and treatment of LGBTQ people in Saudi Arabia. Even LEC's broadcast talent took to Twitter to express their "disappointment" and "frustration" regarding the deal.
  
  
• UFC for the first time is partnering with an esports competition in China, notes TEO's Hongyu Chen. The MMA outfit, which has hosted six events in China dating back to 2012, including one last year in Shenzhen, will partner with Tencent and tournament organizer VSPN for their co-hosted esports competition, Peace Elite League.
  
  
• Envy Gaming and Belong Gaming Arenas have struck a pact to collaborate on designing, building and operating a co-branded flagship gaming center, along with multiple smaller gaming centers, in North Texas, TEO's Kevin Hitt reports. The largest center will make room for 100 gaming stations, with roughly the same number of seats for spectator or fan events. Reps from Envy’s teams, including the Dallas Empire (CDL), Dallas Fuel (OWL) and Team Envy will make appearances as well. There are also plans in the works to allow third parties to use the facilities to offer educational programs.
  
  
• Modern Times Group, the parent company for esports event organizers Dreamhack and ESL, reported a $2.15 million net loss in Q2, as the pandemic continued to impact the live event business, TEO's Tobias Seck reports. MTG offset some of its live-event losses in the quarter by striking a new three-year pact with Twitch. MTG also inked a deal with Epic Games to host a Fortnite tourney via Dreamhack, while also getting a deal with Psyonix to partner on the production of the Rocket League Championship Series Season X.
  
  
• PUBG, the company behind battle royale title Playerunknown's Battlegrounds, has created a new position to grow its business operations in Latin America, TEO's Victor Frascarelli reports. Esports veteran Guilherme Barbosa will fill the new regional business development/LATAM position, having previously served as head exec for Brazilian esports companies BBL and nøline.

Enjoying this newsletter? We've got more! Check out SBJ Media with John Ourand and SBJ College with Michael Smith. Also check out SBJ Unpacks on week nights, as we look at how the sports industry is moving forward amid a pandemic.

Something on the esports beat catch your eye? Tell us about it. Reach out to either Adam Stern (astern@sportsbusinessjournal.com), Trent Murray (trent@esportsobserver.com) or Austin Karp (akarp@sportsbusinessjournal.com) and we'll share the best of it. Also contributing to this newsletter is Thomas Leary (tleary@sportsbusinessdaily.com).